DECODING HAPPINESS

The pursuit of happiness has been an eternal search for mankind. All human actions are directed towards achievement of the state of happiness. But before we dwell further on the subject, two questions need to be answered. One, what is happiness and second, what gives happiness? Maybe, the two questions are intricately linked, but without answering these talking about happiness would be futile.

Coming to the first question ‘what is happiness’, we first need to understand that the very construct is an enigma. For an infant, satisfaction of basic needs leads to a pleasurable experience. For a mother, seeing the infant pleased may give happiness.With growth and maturity, the concept of happiness undergoes a change. It is no longer about satisfaction of one, two or three needs. It is about a series of needs that keep arising one after another. And this fact answers the second question ‘what gives happiness’.

But there is another very intriguing aspect. Happiness is not an innate drive. Rather, it is a conditioned response that is learnt through the reinforcement principle. Thus, there can be individual, cultural and societal differences in both definition as well as perception of happiness. Psychologists too have given many interpretations of the term happiness but one general agreement is there about the hedonistic experience or the pleasure principle.

Western values have different connotation of happiness, while Indian interpretation is entirely different. So it is pleasure that is a determinant of happiness in Western view, whereas the Indian view talks about ananda or bliss, which is a spiritual mental state.

Naturally, happiness will be determined more by physical and material experiences in the Western viewpoint, while contentment or inner feeling will determine it in the Indian ethos. Happiness is a derived state where many factors play a role, the most important being the attitudinal disposition. The crux of happiness thus lies in the way an individual interprets experiences, both sensory as well as mental.

The important thing to understand is that happiness is both a relative as well as an absolute construct. And it is this intriguing aspect of happiness that makes it complex. Nevertheless, the quest for happiness is a continuous pursuit of human beings. The search for an elusive formula of happiness is a persistent aspect of human psychology. Thus, even though there is no definite answer as to what is happiness and what gives happiness, trial and error processes go on.

So one view suggests that it is money that gives happiness as per the World Happiness Report 2016. But there is another and equally vehement school of thought that suggests that money cannot buy happiness. Whatever may be the truth, the fact remains that happiness is the sought-after state. How to achieve that may have myriad of answers, ranging from one extreme where it is satisfaction of endless desires that keep arising one after another to the other extreme where it is the end of desire.

Either way, it is the individual whose mindset will determine what is happiness and what gives it. However, the all-important conclusion is that happiness is a transient experience and looking for eternal happiness may be an ephemeral wish. The best course is to stop looking for a formula and try to tame the mind that is the root cause of all happiness and sorrow. Researches won’t help. One only has to search within.

DON’T KILL YOURSELF, MR EXECUTIVE

A senior Indian executive and CEO of a big MNC died after a massive cardiac arrest in Mumbai recently. He was only 42 and a regular gym buff. In fact, he died after a gym workout. What killed this young and healthy executive is a question that begs an answer. The executive was active in sports, a fitness freak and a long-distance runner also. It so happened that after his workout, he collapsed and was taken to the hospital where he was declared brought dead. The cause of the sudden death was a massive heart attack.

This incident once again is a grim reminder to the corporate India to mend its ways or rather mind its ways. Of late, a new fashion is catching up with Indian executives — overdoing. Overdoing almost everything. Overdoing work. Overdoing workouts. Overdoing parties. Overdoing entertainment. Just everything except one. And that one thing is vital — sleep. But the point is that if you overdo so many things, how can you sleep?

Exactly and this is what is happening. The results are disastrous. But people don’t realise this. Rather, they do not get time to realise because by the time you realise, you are dead. These days people very proudly proclaim to be workaholics, which means they are obsessed with work. Rather, inebriated with work. This condition is given a name ‘Karoshi’ in Japanese management literature, that means death due to over work.

Interestingly, these days Karoshi is also the name of a series of puzzle platformer games in which the goal is to die. The term ‘Karoshi’ was coined in the late Seventies to refer to a large number of Japanese people who got strokes and heart attacks due to overwork. It is time the menace is recognised in India because the social costs of family disruption that these young deaths may carry are far more than the economic gains that accumulate to the corporations and individuals.

What to do? Going back to the case of the young executive mentioned above; it is important to note that all his activities forced him to cut short on sleep. Sleep is crucial and has significant impact on human physiology. Sleeping for less than the required seven to eight hours has serious health implications. It increases the risk for high blood pressure. Not getting proper sleep increases flow of toxic secretions in the body, damaging many vital organs.

The greatest advantage of sleep is that it keeps stress away for all those hours you sleep, providing resilience to the body to cope with future stress that is inevitable. Senior cardiologists advise sleep for a variety of reasons; the most vital one being giving your heart a time to have peace. Not just the heart, sleep gives peace to the mind also.

Without doubt, then, sleep strengthens the two most vital organs of human beings — the heart and the mind. It is important for the executive to understand this and take a call. Sleep well. Sleep is precious and even the best of the salaries cannot buy it.

Perhaps it is precisely for this reason that conventional wisdom suggests that a good sleep is a very dear thing and those who get it are fortunate. Wake up, Mr Executive, and start sleeping well before it is too late.

DEMOCRACY IS ABOUT VALUES, NOT REFERENDUM

Much water has flown down the Thames since the British people voted for the exit of their country from European Union (EU), the decision popularly named Brexit. The explanation is that it is a referendum in which the majority voted for Brexit. This majority was 52 per cent over 48 per cent. So, the fact of the matter is that only four per cent more people wanted the Brexit. If this is democracy then God can only save the system.

Majority can mean anything from 50.01 per cent to 99.99. But the point is can 50.01 per cent decide the fate of the remaining 49.99? And is it fair? Democracy is a system of governance where the view of the majority prevails. However, this does not mean that the majority has absolute right to decide the fate of the minority. If that happens, then the system cannot run.

It is in this light that the referendum for Brexit and the whole idea of democracy has to be viewed. Exercise of direct franchise through referendum is thus a risky affair and may have serious implications. The essence of a democracy is lost when referendums are resorted to for settling critical issues because they require more considered opinions, and referendum may not be that.

Particularly when matters of larger interest involving the entire populace are in question. The stability and success of a democracy cannot just depend on the opinion of the majority. If that starts happening democracies may become anarchies.

Going back to the Brexit issue, let us talk of a hypothetical test. What will happen if the Brexit referendum is held again today? Well, anything may happen and chances are that the figures would certainly change. The strength of a democratic system lies in its representativeness, its spirit to represent and protect the interests of every segment of the populace. It is a system in which the golden rule is ‘equal rights to all, special privileges to none’. Even the majority. That is the reason why democratic systems need to be supported by other mechanisms which act as checks and balances against the tyranny of majoritarianism.

So there is a Constitution, there are institutions to protect the Constitution and there are watchdogs to keep democracy from going astray. It is erroneous to view referendums as the best means to exercise democratic right. Though voters are voting directly, it is fraught with several dangers. Sometimes the vote may be exercised without due consideration, sometimes out of ignorance or naivety, and sometimes due to peer pressure or popular perception created though media hype.

The slim margin of difference in the Brexit case reflects all three. Democracy has to be more stable and the subjects responsible and mature. Popular vote may not always reflect the right position. Sometimes it is the herd mentality that is reflected in popular opinion, which may be a prescription for doom. Democracy needs to be resistant to cheap populism and false propaganda. Relying on the common man’s opinion for every issue, significant or trivial may not always be prudent. It is this that leaders need to understand.

Popular vote on crucial issues are best avoided as there is a difference between mobocracy and democracy. You cannot leave critical issues on the opinion of the masses. Or else, you may even justify xenophobia. Democracy is more about value-based leadership. Referendum is sometimes abdicating leadership responsibility. It is important to understand the crucial difference between referendum and democratic values.